Girichoko: A CCS Valentines Story
by Gentlewolf
Summary: It's Sakura and Syaoran's first Valentine's Day together as a couple since Syaoran returned to Japan. What happens when the Green Eyed Monster makes a visit? It's Sakura's first exposure to Jealousy. Are her reasons justified or is she overreacting?


Giri-choko:

**A Cardcaptor Sakura Valentines Story**

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**Author Note: **This fic was revised on April 28, 2013.

This fic is a Valentines gift for **_Ice Suzaku_** (FFN Username), AKA TsuzaAlzhea (DA Username) in the **CCS-Sakura-x-Syaoran** club in **DeviantArt**. I was SO EXCITED to be her Secret Valentine. Not only have we become good friends both here and in DeviantArt (At least, I think that we have. I hope the feeling is mutual) but I also admire her work! She can not only write, but she can draw TOO! I tried to write this fic with her in mind. I know how much she enjoys Tragedy. She's much better at writing it then I am. Unfortunately this turned out more like a Drama then a Tragedy. *LOL* I'm too much of a sucker for a happy ending to write tragedy properly.

This fic follows the Manga, not the Anime.

**Disclaimer:** **Cardcaptor Sakura** is the the property of **CLAMP**! I do not own the characters or setting in this story. Only the idea for this fic belongs to me.

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After splashing her face with cold water, Sakura looked up at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. She hummed softly while she brushed out her hair. Leaving her hair down to frame her face, she exited the bathroom dressed in her Jr. High School uniform.

Sakura practically skipped back to her room where she pulled the desk chair to her closet and used it in order to reach the top shelf. She located the box that she had hid there the night before. She wasn't surprised to find that it felt lighter then it should. Lifting a corner of the lid, she peered inside to find that it was empty. This pleased her, and she could barely suppress her giggle. Kero had taken the bait.

Setting the empty, thin, rectangular shaped box aside, Sakura reached up to the ceiling of the closet. She felt around until she found the small notch that had been skillfully etched there. After pushing at that spot to lift the ten by ten-inch sized hatch up into the ceiling, a small hidden compartment was revealed. It was something that she had asked Touya to make for her, with this sole purpose in mind. She felt inside to retrieve another thin rectangular shaped box and smiled mischievously as she felt the weight of what was inside.

After replacing the hatch of the hidden compartment, Sakura stepped down from the chair with a triumphant grin. She had successfully hidden Syaoran's Valentine's Day chocolate from Kero. The box on the shelf had been purposefully left there with the expectation that Kero would go snooping for the chocolate she had worked so hard to make the night before. Kero should now be sleeping soundly, and would probably be for most of the day. She used the Sleep card to sprinkle the chocolate left on the shelf with sleeping powder, a small punishment to her guardian for being so greedy.

This was Sakura and Syaoran's first Valentine's Day together as a couple. Together in Japan, that is. On their first Valentine's Day as a couple Syaoran was still in Hong Kong finishing his formalities. It had been nearly a year since he returned to be with her in Tomoeda .

Grabbing her school bag, Sakura carefully placed Syaoran's chocolate inside and left her room to go down for breakfast. She was early this morning, impatient to meet Syaoran at their usual spot on the way to school. She entered the kitchen and greeted her mother's picture cheerfully. Touya looked up in surprise when she set her bag down beside her chair.

"The Kaijuu is up early this morning," Touya observed with a raised eyebrow.

Refusing to let him ruin her mood, Sakura ignored his remark and moved to the kitchen. She wanted to make a bento, lunch, for Syaoran today. As she set to work Touya watched her in astonishment, his eyebrow twitching. It was becoming harder and harder to tease her lately.

Sakura ate her breakfast while she made the two bentos, one for her and one for Syaoran. She cheerfully slid the lids over the lunch boxes when she was finished and moved to the table in order to retrieve her bag.

"Wait a minute, Kaijuu," Touya called after her as she headed for the door. "Is that Gaki the only one you are giving anything to today?" Touya asked, remembering how he always received chocolate from his little sister on past Valentine's Days. Now that she had a ….boyfriend…., he shuddered at the thought, was his cute little sister forgetting her obligation to her father and brother?

Sakura stopped in her tracks, but didn't turn to face him for fear that she would give herself away. "Gomen ne, Onii-chan, Sorry big brother," Sakura began to say. "I tried to hide it from him, but Kero-chan ate the chocolate that I made for you," she finished saying, trying hard to keep her voice from revealing her little white lie.

"Nani, What!?" Touya bellowed in surprise. "Why that little!" Touya grumbled and stood. "I'm going to give that stuffed animal a piece of my mind!" He was prepared to head towards the stairs, but Sakura's giggle stopped him at the door.

"I put your chocolate in your school bag last night, Onii-chan," Sakura managed to say through her giggles. Touya stared at her in bewilderment. Not only had she become increasingly difficult to tease, lately she was the one finding new and creative ways of teasing HIM. "I'll be going now!" Touya heard her say with her cheerful smile and he watched in astonishment as she turned to head towards the door. Sakura put on her shoes and left for school without turning to see his reaction.

Syaoran lived in an apartment a few blocks away. They usually met at the crossroads where their paths met on the way to school. Though the sun was blocked by the partly clouded sky, Sakura's cheerful and overly excited mood illuminated the dull gray morning. When the intersection at which they always met came into view Sakura picked up her pace, anxious to see him. She rounded the corner and immediately froze in her tracks. Her heart leapt into her throat over the scene before her and she quickly dove behind a nearby tree before she could be seen.

Sakura's stomach churned sourly and she swallowed back the bile that rose into her throat. After taking a deep breath in the hope to calm her pounding heart she peeked around the side of the tree.

Syaoran stood half way down the block with another girl. Sakura recognized the girl as being Syaoran's neighbor. She was a student at the Tomoeda High School, in the eleventh grade, if Sakura remembered right. Sakura's heart pounded against her chest as she glared at the girl and waited to see what the girl wanted with her boyfriend NOW. On Valentine's Day of all days! Sakura had always been suspicous of the girl, the way she always greeted Syaoran with too much familiarity.

Sakura watched as Syaoran and the girl held a conversation that was unheard to her ears. As the girl produced a small square box that she held out for Syaoran to accept, Sakura's heart plummeted to her stomach. She yanked herself back around the tree and leaned with her back against it after Syaoran accepted the gift. Squeezing her fists open and closed, her head fall back against the trunk of the tree. The gray sky blurred with the tears that began to pool in her eyes. She wondered what the meaning of this could be. Why had Syaoran accepted the gift? It was obviously chocolate. What else could it be? It was Valentine's Day, after all.

Sakura clinched her fist over her he heart as it ached in her chest. Could Syaoran be cheating on her? Was he tired of being with her? They had been officially a couple for over a year now. Did people begin to fall out of love after being together for too long? She shook her head violently to rid herself of the thoughts. Surely that wasn't it, Chiharu-chan and Yamazaki-kun had been together for a long time, and they didn't show any signs of getting tired of one another. Sakura pressed her hands against her temples and furrowed her eyebrows together in confusion. She wasn't aware of just how long she had been standing there when the sound of her name caused her eyes to snap open and she looked up in surprise.

"Sakura? What are you doing there? What's wrong? Are you okay?" Syaoran asked as he approached her causciously, as if she were an injured wild animal.

Sakura stared at him with wide teary eyes. He looked sincere, but then why had he accepted chocolate from that other girl? Was he just leading her on, not wanting to hurt her perhaps? He didn't seem to know that she had seen anything. Her heart pounded in her throat. She couldn't find her voice to speak. Instead she found herself fleeing from the scene.

He called after her, but she didn't hear him pursue after her. Sakura turned off of the main road and followed a longer route to the school. She didn't understand what was wrong with her. She had a difficult time beliving that Syaoran didn't love her anymore. The scene of the other girl offering the small box for Syaoran's acceptance replayed through her mind as she slowed to a walk. The girl was very pretty. She had long beautiful hair, a slim waist and large breasts. Sakura folded her arms over her chest, which was still small and underdeveloped. Maybe that was what Syaoran saw in the other girl?

Sakura had mixed feelings towards the entire situation. She wasn't crying at the moment. Her mood switched constantly from that of being hurt, to being angry at him, to being angry at herself, to being angry at the other girl, and back to pain and sorrow. She collapsed onto a bench at the edge of the sidewalk and burried her face into her hands. She didn't know what she was doing. Surely she was overreacting. Syaoran wouldn't really cheat on her…..would he?

That girl, though, Syaoran's neighbor, she was constantly coming over to his house. There were even a few occasions when Sakura and Syaoran were shopping, or walking downtown, when the girl had seen him and rushed over to hang onto his other arm, talking to him about nothing that Sakura could make much sense out of.

The loud rumbling sound of an engine pulled her out of her thoughts and Sakura looked up in time to see Touya pull up to the side of the curb on his motorcycle. "Oi, Kaijuu!" He called to her. "What are you doing here? You're going to be late for School!" He chided her. Sakura caught the helmet that he threw in her direction and stared at him in confusion. What was he doing here? His college was in the other direction and no where near her Jr. High School. "That Gaki called the house and told Dad that you ran off, upset about something." Touya answered her questioning eyes. "What happened? Did he do something to you? If he did he's asking for it!" Touya said in a threatening tone.

"No, no, it's nothing like that," Sakura lied horribly while she put on the helmet. No matter what the reason was, she didn't want to give Touya a reason to fight with her boyfriend. If he had called the house worried about her, then surely she was overreacting to everything. She smiled hopefully and climbed onto the back of the bike to wrap her arms tightly around her brother's waist. Though he was skeptical, Touya didn't question the matter and reved the bike into motion.

Touya managed to drop her off in front of her school with a couple of minutes to spare before the bell would ring. "Arigato, Onii-chan! Thanks, big brother!" She called over her shoulder as she raced through the school grounds and into the school to her locker. After changing her shoes she rushed through the halls, which only contained a few straggling students who were in as much of a rush as she was to make it to class before the morning bell. She stepped into her classroom a second before it rang.

"I'm glad that you decided to join us today, Kinomoto-san," the teacher acknowledged her nearly tardy enterance. "Please be seated quickly so that I may start the class," he informed her sternly.

"H….hai!" Sakura answered quickly and quietly rushed to her seat, keeping her head down in embarrassment. She felt too ashamed as she walked down the aisle of desks to look up and meet Syaoran's curious eyes. She did catch a glimpse of Tomoyo as she sat down in her desk infront of Syaoran. Tomoyo's look was one of worry and concern.

They didn't get much time to talk during class that morning. There was a pop quiz during their English lesson and a test for Math. The students were kept busy working on their other subjects in between. Tomoyo could only find the time to pass a short note asking Sakura if she was okay, to which Sakura only had the time to nod in reply. Syaoran showed his concern with a gentle squeeze of her shoulder when the teacher was busily writing on the chalkboard. Sakura felt a twinge of guilt in the pit of her stomach for thinking that he was cheating on her. She would have to wait until lunch before confronting him with what she had seen that morning.

Sakura thought that the lunch bell would never ring. The morning dragged on and she found it hard to concentrate on anything but her toughts. It made matters worse that Syaoran was less then two feet away from her and she couldn't even ask him to explain his actions. She was starting to overreact again as she worried that perhaps Syaoran still loved her, but that it was only as a friend. By the time that the lunch bell finally did ring, Sakura was sitting with her elbows on the desk. Her chin was resting in her hands and she rubbed at her temples with the attempt to lesson her headache.

"Daijoubu, are you okay, Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo was the first one at her side, feeling at her forehead for a fever.

"Aren't you feeling well?" Syaoran asked, after standing and moving to her other side. He knelt on his heals beside her and rubbed his hand up and down her back in concern.

Sakura looked first at Tomoyo, giving her a nod and a small smile. "I'm okay," She assured her best friend. She then turned her attention slowly to her boyfriend. "Can we go somewhere to talk?" She asked quietly without meeting his eyes. "I….made a bento for you," Sakura added quietly, as if she thought he might refuse it.

Syaoran and Tomoyo exchanged a look of concern. "Of course," he replied to Sakura's question and slid a hand to her elbow to help her stand.

"I promised Naoko that I would help her with something," Tomoyo excused herself to give her two best friends some time alone.

"You don't have to…" Sakura started to say in response to Tomoyo's words as she stood.

"Honestly, Naoko was hoping for some support. She asked me to make sure she didn't back down in her attempt to confess to Ichigawa-kun," Tomoyo explained with a smile and squeezed one of Sakura's hands reassuringly.

Sakura watched with longing as Tomoyo walked away, she felt that she could really use her best friends support too. She was pulled from her thoughts at the feel of Syaoran's hand sliding down her arm to take hold of her own. Sakura grabbed for her bag and allowed him to lead her out of the classroom.

They walked in silence out onto the school grounds. Syaoran could sense that something wasn't quite right, but waited for her to initiate the conversation. They came to a stop under their favorite cherry tree on the school grounds. The bare branches rustled slightly with a light breeze that had also blown the gray clouds of the morning away to reveal the bright blue sky. Syaoran watched as the breeze played around Sakura's hair. The sight caught his breath. He loved when the wind blew through her hair.

Sakura closed her eyes and took a deep breath before turning around to face him. "Why did your neighbor give you chocolate this morning? And why did you accept it? Do you like her?" Sakura asked her questions in a rush, feeling now as if she had been spying on him that morning rather then having just accidentally stumbled onto the scene.

Syaoran blinked and stared at her in surprise. In the moment that it took to register the reason for her questions in his mind Sakura stared down at a fixed spot on the ground and fiddled with her hands anxiously. The sudden sound of his laughter surprised Sakura out of her fixation and she narrowed her eyes at him, wondering what was so funny.

"Silly, that was Giri-choko, obligation chocolate," he stated and reached for her hands.

"Giri-choko?" Sakura asked, repeating his words.

Syaoran nodded and turned instantly serious. "Hai, Giri-choko. Chocolate given to someone as an obligation," Syaoran reminded her of the custom for women to not only give chocolate to their beloved, chocolate known as Honmei-choko, but also to give chocolate to male friends and co-workers out of friendship or gratitude. That chocolate was known as Giri-choko, or obligation chocolate. "You see, I've been helping her to learn Chinese, and the chocolate was a gift for tutoring her," he explained, pulling Sakura closer to hug her. "How could you think that I would love anyone but you?" he questioned her sanity.

Sakura stood frozen in his embrace as his words processed through her mind. She had been overreacting after all. Syaoran had to hold her out at arms length before she shook herself out of her state of shock. In that moment she pounced onto him with a hug. Her heart felt light with relief as she laughed the entire situation away.

Syaoran found himself on the ground with his girlfriend on top of him. She had pounced so unpredictably that he hadn't had the time to brace himself in order to keep them from falling. It didn't take long for her cheeks to flush, after which she quickly scrambled off of him, sitting off to his side. Syaoran laughed as he sat up, relieved that things seemed to be back to normal.

"Oh!" Sakura exclaimed after a short moment and reached around to pull her bag off of her back. She reached inside to pull out the thin rectangular shaped box and handed it to him. "Happy Valentine's Day."

With a grin Syaoran accepted the gift and wasted no time to untie the red ribbon the held the box closed. He then lifted the lid to find a chocolate molded double heart. In one heart were the initials "KS" while the other heart held the initials "LS." In the center, where the two hearts joined, was the kanji for Love.


End file.
